Mold for shaping and curing reinforced plastic material

A mold for shaping and curing a fiber reinforced body of plastic material comprising a female mold member and a male mold member for supporting a preform of oriented plastic coated fibers therebetween, a transverse plane through said female and male mold members, said female mold member having a mold cavity extending in one direction from said transverse plane, said male mold member having a core extending in said one direction from said transverse plane, said male mold member being movable toward said female mold member upon closing of said mold with said core movable into said cavity for urging said preform into a molding space defined by said core and the surface of said female mold member in said cavity, said female mold member having sloped lead-in surfaces at the edges of said cavity, said male mold member having recessed surfaces at the edges of said core, said lead-in surfaces and said recessed surfaces extending away from said transverse plane on an opposite side of said transverse plane from said mold cavity and said core, peripheral spaces enclosed by said lead-in surfaces and said recessed surfaces permitting substantially unrestricted movement of said preform from a position between said male mold member and said female mold member into said molding space during closing of said mold without distortion of said oriented plastic coated fibers and means to apply heat to said mold for curing said preform.